The Lightning Strike
by TheSouthernScribe
Summary: An About Last Night Outtake as requested by Elektralyte. Realizations and fluff ahead, no angst, just a happy ending.


_For Elektralyte…as you requested…it ended up a little different…hope everyone enjoys…_

_This outtake takes place between About Last Night and Mend…inspired by the Snow Patrol song 'The Lightning Strike'_

_**Disclaimer – No ownership involved**_

_**The Lightning Strike**_

_**What if this storm ends?**_

Gaila didn't know when it happened…

How it happened…

Or why it happened…

The first night their eyes met in Pike's, she knew, in spite of all the layers of insanity in her life, the bad shit that had occurred Jim Kirk was the one. It was something about the way he smiled. Not only did his lips curve up in the perfect semi circle but the laughter reached his eyes and flooded her very being, like a bolt of lightning dancing across the summer night sky.

He was perfect; an edge of arrogance surrounded by the air of uncertainty.

Later after Pike was at sea happy in love, Gaila and Jim had connected over classic literature. He never ceased to amaze her; on the surface he read jock, frat boy, or just plain idiot. He was capable of being all those things; however he fought for his friends, loved them despite their faults, and showcased his own vulnerabilities for the world to see.

He was a rare find. Like a dusty, leather bound, first edition that you discover buried in a trunk of old junk your grandparents owned.

Their first date had confirmed what she knew the first night her eyes fell on him.

It was love.

She watched him dance around in the booth as he spooned, heaps and heaps, of whipping cream and lime pie filling into his mouth.

She watched him watch her during the movie. Waiting to see if she smiled, cried, or met his gaze.

She watched him in the rear view mirror as she drove away that night.

What if the feeling ended?

It wouldn't. That much Gaila was sure of and it shook her to the bone. Everything said run away before you care, before you can't, or before you need this man to breathe. Instead she stayed, allowing the budding romance to slowly consume her. Like a fire destroying a house room by room.

Jim's smile had warmed her heart.

His concern had soothed her soul.

The kisses he placed on her lips awakened a desire long forgotten…

Completion…

_**The Sunlight Through the Flags**_

When the words left her mouth, Gaila expected Jim to run. Instead, his arms pulled her closer and held her firm against the warmth of his chest. They stayed like that for most of the night. An occasional 'sorry' the only words he spoke, but his grip would tighten each time.

Someone cried for her. It had been expected for Nyota to shed tears. Much of what Gaila had encountered had been during the course of their friendship. Pike had pulled her back from the brink of destruction. Yet each time she met a man who could be a romantic possibility, the woman found that she had to gauge what to share. How deep in the closet of secrets should she go this time? Gaila could watch their faces twist and distort with the mention of some of her high school wild days. Obviously they were thinking about their faces splayed across the newspapers in the event that he became a man of importance and she his wife. The phone calls would stop only after said man had experienced her skills. Gaila would be alone, measuring her worth, against the misguided judgment of a prick in a nice suit.

This time, it was different.

Jim had asked her to trust him; to trust what they shared together.

She did.

"You're safe; no one will ever hurt you again."

Gaila felt his lips on her hair, taking in the scent, squeezing her gently, and reaffirming the daily promises he spoke.

That night they made love for the first time. It wasn't out of an attempt to push aside hurt or bad memories. It was their personal commitment ceremony.

_**III. Daybreak**_

Gaila's hand shot up to cover her eyes. The sun was bright; he air heavy with heat and humidity. Nyota rushed up behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Are you ready?"

Gaila nodded. Poking a finger in the intricate braids in her air, only to have Nyota swat it away for fear that the flowers adorning the auburn strands of hair would fall out. Her eyes fell on the white sand and the blue green water. The ground was burning her bare feet but she didn't care. The rays of heat radiated on her shoulders, promising a gift of more freckles instead of tan, days after this trip had ended.

Gaila's head dropped down to greet the eyes of the little girl tugging on the front of her dress. Joanna placed a long stemmed white lily in her hands before disappearing down the stone steps.

The voices of the small group waiting for them drifted across the sea side.

"A new day baby girl…" Nyota choked back tears as she stared at her friend. "You're beautiful."

Gaila squeezed her friend's hand before following her down the path to her future.

"I do."

The words echoed in her mind long after he spoke the words.

"I do."

She repeated when the officiating minister stopped speaking.

I do promise to be happy, healthy, and alive. Gaila sealed her vow with a kiss.


End file.
